 Photos by Bobbi Cruzan Kent City 32 Newaygo 22 The Eagles have been known to test their teams early in the season and this year has been no exception.A pair of D1 teams followed by the always tough West Michigan Christian resulted in KC taking 2 out of 3 losing a tight season opener to undefeated Kenowa Hills of the OK Gold a division filled with talented teams. Just ask Newaygo. The Lions traveled to OK Gold Cedar Springs earlier this week and ran into a red hot Red Hawk squad who took over both ends of the floor and delivered them their first loss. On Friday the two teams met on the Eagle home court and the hosts took advantage of a big early lead to capture the conference win. A cold start put the Lions in a 13-2 hole after the first quarter. From there they hung around before making a couple of 4th quarter runs that brought them within 6 at one point, but the Eagles were able to contain the Lions down the stretch and hold home court. Coach Thomasma: ”Overall, the energy and execution was much better than it was against Cedar Springs on Tuesday but we have to figure out a way to settle into games quicker. We're digging too big of a hole early in games and it's difficult to come back and beat a quality team like Kent City. We just need to continue to work hard in practice to get better.” Kija Schultz and Lillian Holmes each hit for 6 points with Holmes adding a half dozen boards and Schultz grabbing 3 steals. Maria Riddering snared 5 steals to go with her 3 points and Amaya Lathrop matched her 4 points with 4 steals. Newaygo (1-1, 2-1) will host Grant (2-0, 3-0) on Tuesday. Fremont 42 Montague 34 The Packers rolled through most of the game building an early lead behind their pressure defense and hitting halftime with a 19 point edge. Up by as many as 22 in the final frame, a furious late run by the Wildcats shaved 14 points off that lead but it proved too little too late and the visiting Pack notched their second straight win. Coach Zerfas: “ I thought we came out with great energy and forced the pace to be fast. Our rotations are getting better each time we play and you can see the team chemistry is building day by day. I just love how hard this group works in practice and games and it is beginning to show positive results.” Mia Clemence knocked down 14 points to pace the Packer scoring followed by Jessica Bennett who hit for 13. Bennett and Clemence each collected 5 rebounds while Olivia Hansen worked the glass for a team high 9 boards. Taylor DeKuiper took down 7 rebounds, adding 3 steals while Grace Davis scored 6 and Riley Chase added 5 points to her half dozen steals. Next up for Fremont (2-0, 2-1) is the Reed City Holiday Tournament opening round on Friday December 29th They will face the host Coyotes in a 3pm game. Grant 48 Reed City 46 The Tigers made it 3 in a row holding back a late Coyote attack to capture the conference win. Coach Delamater: “We knew going into this game that it was going to be a battle. Reed City is young and athletic and is a contender at the top of the conference. We did a really good job dealing with their pressure in the first quarter and shot the ball well despite our leading scorer, senior Julie Ashbaugh, being forced to the bench by two quick fouls. Both teams tightened up the defense in the second, and even with a ten point lead going into half, I knew we were going to face a strong Reed City push in the second half. The third quarter was dead even and we started the 4th on a run to push the lead to 15. But, basketball is a game of runs and Reed City turned up the pressure forcing us into 5 straight possessions with a turnover and cut the lead to 5. With us up by 1 with under 15 seconds to go, senior Bella Welch made a free throw to put us up 2. On the ensuing Reed City possession she got a steal but missed a layup and Reed City got possession of the ball. On the inbound, junior Reese Gragg played great defense and tipped the ball inbounds pass to seal the game for us. “Bella led us with 14 points on the night and senior Natalia Rodriguez had an outstanding game with 11. On the defensive side of the ball junior Jocee Pleune and Welch continue to be dynamic in their full court defense. The two of them are the catalyst for everything we do defensively. “This was a must win for us if we want to be at the top of the conference. We focused on boxing out all week and I thought we did much better tonight. Defensively, we were solid, but offensively we have lots to work on.” Grant (2-0, 3-0) will travel to Newaygo (1-1, 2-1) Tuesday, one of 3 games the Tigers play this coming week. Central Montcalm 52 White Cloud 25 The Hornets held home hive with a convincing win over the Cloud Friday night. The visitors kept it close early finishing the first quarter down just 12-9 but turnovers plagued them going forward and CM ran to the conference win. Coach Wilk: “ We will get back in the gym and try to clean up our mistakes before our next game. Luckily it is the weekend because a few of us are under the weather, and we are hoping that with enough rest we will be ready for Big Rapids. Annie Feldpausch scored 6 points to lead the team while Jaden Gomez and Tanayah Klammer each hit for 5. White Cloud (1-1, 2-2) will host Big Rapids (0-1, 1-3) on Tuesday. Holton 69 Fruitport CC 17 The Red Devils routed the Eagles as they piled up 25 first quarter points to build a 20 point lead Abbie Fowler accounted for 15 of those points, part off her game high 19 on the night. Coach Jordan: “ Just like last game the goal was to play a complete game on the defensive end and as a team we took care of business. Many girls contributed and Lexi Bart continues to step up for us on the offensive end as she scored another 14 points tonight. Aubrey Goyings had another great statistical night again with 5 points 11 rebounds and 5 steals and Ryann Robins was her typical self with another double double of 12 points and 13 rebounds. Layla Cannady also chipped in 10 points.” In addition to her 19 points Fowler collected 4 steals and dished out a 6 pack of assists. Holton (1-1, 3-1) will be back in action when they kick off their Holiday Tournament on Thursday the 28th, taking on Muskegon Heights at noon.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories |
RSS Feed